Joke
by saNyu hIkArI
Summary: She had everything. Everything a girl ever wants. But who would play such a cruel joke on her?


Disclaimer: I don't own CCS nor do I own the characters…you know the usual drill… 

**A/N: **Haven't finished Love Notes. Am currently working on it. Wrote this for my own amusement. I thought this is so sweet. Had in on my mind for a long, long, long time…

**Summary:** She had it all. Everything one could think off. Who would have set her a joke? Such an outrageous, monstrous joke?

**Enjoy!**

** -- + -- **

I am an ordinary woman at the age of 25 years.

In life I need a job, a secure career. And I had one.

I also need a normal life, despite the troubles I usually encounter in it. And I had one.

I also need…a boyfriend who loves me, for me. Just me.

A familiar melody penetrated into my ear. I fished around my handbag for my cell phone.

" Sakura! Do you want to go shopping today?" I heard Tomoyo asked through her cell phone.

" Iie," I replied back in mine.

I could hear her pout. I laughed.

" Gomen nasai, Tomoyo-chan. I'm not really free for today," I explained.

" Next time, okay?" I said to her.

" Doushite? You sound too happy," she said. " Ayashi na…" she chanted.

I simply giggled.

" A boyfriend?" she guessed.

" Hai," I said before bidding her a goodbye and closed the hand phone.

That's right!

That's my only dream in my life and that dream came true…including a boyfriend who loves me in this 16 years.

I arrived at the Penguin Park. Oh, the fond memories.

I remember us, sitting under the sakura trees. Him, teaching me Mathematics, the subject I least adore.

I remember how he used to tease me about that subject and how I'd blushed in embarrassment.

I remember how he'd say those words that melt my heart in an instant, in order to coax me not to be angry with him.

I wouldn't use the word remember now, for he was here.

Here in Japan.

Here in Tomoeda.

Here in Penguin Park.

Here.

With me.

There he was, sitting on the bench, the same ones where we used to sit back in the old days.

" You're late." He stated.

" Eriol!" I called out his name.

I like his name.

I like the way his name sounds when it rolled over the tip of my tongue.

I like the way it made me feel when I called out his name.

Wonderful.

Brilliant.

Lovely.

We were into this relationship since we were in elementary school.

We temporarily break up when he went to England to further his studies in art.

I can't believe he's here now, with me, next to me.

He came back a month ago.

I was shocked, needless to say, that he remembers me but joyful at the same time, that he remembers me.

Who knows the love between us last?

Our love never changed.

At least I never changed.

Eriol? Eriol has changed, a lot.

One of the things got me jolted when he came back was his eyes' color.

They're amber-colored now, not sapphire like before.

He said he wore contact lenses instead of glasses. The contact lenses made his pupils changes color.

They're brownish-gold now, not blue.

He also says that it suits him. I couldn't agree more.

It made him look somehow mysterious.

They were most definitely amber, with specks of gold in them, surrounded by the most gorgeous, dark lashes.

His hairstyle changed too.

Before, it was dark blue, silky and parted in the middle.

Now, it was muddy brown, messy.

Plain messy. And chocolaty.

Not that I mind it, though. I was astonished when I saw him like that, at first.

He says that he needed changes in his looks.

I agreed with him. His new appearance was definitely an eye catch.

The rest was the same.

He grew, yes, he did.

He was a good 5'7 to my 5'4.

He was very well built and I mean, VERY.

Huggable chest, packed arms, and smooth tanned skin.

MOST definitely an eye catch.

Luckily, he's mine.

Not anyone else's.

" I never knew you play harmonica before," I said to him after he finishes playing a tune.

" Chotto," he replied, smiling at me.

Remembering something, I brought out a small box out from my handbag.

" Hora!" I said, presenting him the box. " A gift for you. A soft mouse toy,"

" Ah! I remember. You've once been bitten by a mouse when you were small, ne?" I said.

" Is the scar still there?" I asked him, touching his hand to see it.

Surprisingly, he flipped my hand, making me unsuccessful in seeing the scar.

Though I found his act odd, the feeling was washed away when he said," Arigatou for the present, Sakura,"

" I'll love it like I love you," he said again, this time kissing my hand he was holding.

I giggled.

I was happy.

He was sweet.

Nothing could go wrong.

" Ah! Eriol-kun, I forgot to ask you. I have a gathering of class 3A2 this Sunday. I…I've been hoping that you would come, even though you're from other class," I said, hoping that he would agree.

" Gomen…I have other things that day," I heard him say.

I looked at him. I saw that his face was turned. I was unable to see his face, his emotion.

" De…Demo, I want to introduce you to my friends," I said sadly, looking at the ground underneath me.

He stood up. " Your hands are cold. Ikuyo!"

" Put your hands here, it's warmer. Let's eat; I'm hungry," he said, putting my hand he was holding in his jacket pocket.

" Eriol…"

He kissed my forehead before I could continue.

" I know, I know. I'll meet up with your friends later, okay?" he said apologetically.

" Promise?" I asked him hopefully.

He simply smiled.

Am I being too sensitive? Eriol…

It's like he's hiding something from me.

But I understand that he – we – might need some times in understanding each other again.

I understand why he did not want to meet his old friends.

Maybe the gathering will make him feel uncomfortable.

The day arrived in a blink of an eye.

I was at the gathering place, Hoshi Café.

" Konnichiwa, minna-san!" I greeted.

" Sakura-chan!" I heard a squeal behind me.

" Chiharu-chan!" I squealed back. We were both jumping up and down, excited to see each other.

Hell, it's been ages!

" Glad you can make it, Sakura-chan!" Another voice reached my ear. It belonged to another old friend, Rika.

" Minna-san! Sakura-chan's here!" Chiharu announced.

" Konnichiwa!" I said.

It was a buzz, like in a beehive.

Every one was asking about each other's status, here and there, glad to see each other again.

We changed news: be it good or bad.

It was a great time.

I almost forgot everyone's name.

Whose not here?

Ah, never mind.

" Every one's here except Li-kun!" I heard someone said.

Li-kun…

Now, that does ring a bell.

Before I had the chance to ponder any longer on that thought, I felt someone bumped into me from behind.

I turned and saw a cute little boy at the age of 4, tugging the hem of my pink skirt.

Big black eyes and messy brown hair.

Now who's this?

" Don't be naughty, Akiko!" I heard someone scold the small boy.

" Naoko?"

The woman in front of me smiled.

" Naoko-chan! It's been a while! You're married?" I asked her, unable to stop the question from pouring out.

All the while, I was holding the little guy and spinning him around happily. Hmm…

He looks so much like his mother.

" Do you have a boyfriend? When's your marriage?" Rika bombarded me with questions.

I blushed a bit. " Not this early,"

Chiharu hugged me from behind, laughing. " Little Sakura has a boyfriend," she chanted.

" Who's he? Why didn't you bring him along?" Naoko asked.

" His name is Eriol. Perhaps you know him? He's in the next class," I explained.

" Eriol?" Takashi echoed after me.

" Summimassen, is this the Eriol who flew to England?" He asked me.

Takashi is Chiharu's husband. I learned before that they were married a couple of months before.

Still newly wed.

" Hai," I said. " It's been a moon since he came back here,"

" Impossible," he said, causing me to frown.

" Eh? Doushite?" I ask him.

" I called him yesterday. He said that he'll be married in a week and will continue living in England with his wife, Mizuki Kaho," he said.

His words hit me.

It's impossible!

Utterly mad!

It can't be!

Everything happened to fast.

In a blink of an eye…

From happiness to sadness…

From love to hate…

From the truth to the lie…

" I knew that you would find out eventually. But I never expect it to be this soon," he said.

Tears made its way through my face.

It was true…

He was lying all this time.

I confronted him in the same park. The Penguin Park.

It was all a lie.

All this happiness, jollity and love I felt in a month time…

It was all a lie…merely a lie.

Flashbacks of our date ran into my mind.

Us in a movie theater, watching Romeo and Juliet movie…

Us dating in the most expensive restaurant…

Us in a perfect, romantic moment…

Us kissing under the moonlight, under the sakura trees…

It was perfect.

It had been perfect.

But it was a lie.

Fresh tears made its way through the same path as the last had gone.

The thought of his lie made me feel angry yet very, very heavyhearted.

It would seem now that I'm not the happiest woman on Earth, but the exact opposite…

" I'm Eriol's friend," he began again," My face looks alike like Eriol,"

So it explains why I didn't actually doubt his lie about the eyes color and the hairstyle.

" When I found out that he has other girlfriend in England, I became worried," he stopped.

Worried! You became worried!

To hell with your worries, for all I care!

Of course, those words did not come out from my mouth. It was sealed. Zipped.

He continued,

" I was worried about you. You were the one who loved him all this time. I don't want you to be sad. So, I admit to you that I was Eriol and pretend to be your boyfriend,"

He turned and looked at me. " But I really like you-"

I cut him before he could say anything else," Don't say it anymore! Utsutsuki!"

" I'll never forgive you!" I continued, never once looking at his way.

" You were the one who made me feel pathetic like this!" I yelled after him for he was walking away silently.

He stopped and turned unhurriedly.

" I never hope that you would forgive me since I made the decision to come back to Japan to see you!" he said.

" Eriol and I are alike in many ways. Only one difference…" he said in a sad voice.

For hell, do I look like I care with his sad voice!

" You never looked at me before…" he said, lifting his hand and thus showing it to me.

His hand!

There's not scar!

" Even though I observe you the Eriol does, you never notice my existence," he said, walking away again.

Before I could stop myself, I yelled after him," Who are you? Why do you know so much about me!"

He stopped walking but never turned to look at me.

With a quavering voice, I said," Your name! Tell me your name!"

He turned slightly, tilting his face to see me and replied," Syaoran from class 3A2!"

I was stunned.

Startled.

Jolted.

Horrified.

Astounded.

Electrified.

All of this emotion, I felt it, in seconds time.

My feet were stuck to the ground.

How I wish it would crack open and swallow me up.

Alas, it did not.

Human's memories wouldn't remember everything sometimes.

I have totally forgotten about Syaoran's existence from my memories.

Now, everything waltzed back into my mind, all of my memories with Syaoran.

I saw a younger version of Syaoran, sitting under sakura trees in Penguin Park.

He was playing the harmonica.

I was on my way home when I heard the melody.

The melody he was playing with his harmonica.

It had drawn me to him.

I introduced myself and he did too.

" I'm Sakura," I said.

" I'm Syaoran," he replied.

How can I possibly not remember him?

Syaoran was the one who taught me how to play harmonica.

This has got to be the biggest joke in my entire life…

A joke, between Sakura and Syaoran…

**Author's Note:**

**Sweet, ain't it? Loved this story to pieces. Do you like the twist in the middle and the end? Simply marvelous, I'd tell ya! Tell me what you guys think! Ja ne!**

**Dictionary:**

**Iie – No**

**Gomen nasai – I'm sorry**

Doushite – Why 

**Ayashi na – How suspicious**

**Hai - Yes**

**Chotto – A little**

**Hora – Look**

**Arigatou – Thank you**

**Demo – But**

**Ikuyo – Let's go**

**Konnichiwa – Hello**

**Minna-san – Everyone**

**Sumimassen – Excuse me**

**Utsutsuki - Liar**


End file.
